Black workers sue General Mills, alleging discrimination at Georgia plant

For 16 years, a wall at a General Mills cereal factory in Georgia bore a mural that looked like Confederate monument Stone Mountain.

On the 12-foot-tall painting were three General Mills cereal mascots portraying Confederate generals, including Buzz the Bee as Stonewall Jackson.

Black workers at the plant in Covington, outside of Atlanta, say that’s one of many examples of racism and discrimination at a plant run by “Good Ole Boys,” according to a lawsuit filed last weekend by eight current and former employees.

“Egregious incidents of racism have gone ignored by local and corporate HR for over 20 years,” the lawsuit alleges. “Further, HR routinely informs racist white supervisors about the content of complaints against them along with the identity of the Black employees who made the complaint. This frequently results in retaliation against Black employees.”

Golden Valley-based General Mills said Wednesday it does not comment on pending litigation.

“General Mills has a long-standing and ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” said the maker of Cheerios and Totino’s Pizza Rolls.

The federal class-action lawsuit says managers at the 36-year-old plant have a history of “hiring or promoting white employees into positions for which they are not qualified to the detriment of more qualified Black employees.”

“Black employees, including those who worked for General Mills for over a decade, were and are disheartened and stopped interviewing for positions because the Good Ole Boys are open and obvious about choosing white candidates over more qualified Black candidates,” the complaint says.

The suit, which alleges federal civil rights violations and “racketeering activity,” also contains numerous allegations of day-to-day abuse, including racial slurs. One employee found “KKK” scrawled on his lunchbox, and when he reported it to HR was asked to provide a handwriting sample to prove he didn’t put it there himself.

The lawsuit seeks damages for “millions of dollars in losses and irreparable harm to their career trajectories” as well as court orders “holding racist decision makers accountable and implementing lawful employment practices that give Black employees the full benefit of employment at General Mills.”